7 Ways To Cope With Inauguration Day Anxiety
Inauguration Day is different in 2021...
getty The Inauguration of the 46th President of the United States of America, one Joseph R. Biden Jr., is fast approaching.
While Inauguration Day is generally a celebratory event — especially where I live near the nation’s Capitol — this year things may feel quite different.
On January 6, an armed mob stormed the Capitol Building during a joint session of Congress certifying the 2020 election results. Five people died and many others were injured. Public property was damaged or destroyed.
It's very natural to feel some anxiety or concern around what could happen on January 20. Exactly how you feel will depend on your own personal opinions and your individual emotional makeup.
As a hypnotherapist, I help people deal with anxieties from many different causes, and Inauguration Day anxiety is no different.
Here are 7 ways to deal with Inauguration anxiety as the day approaches.
1. Know that you don’t know everything.
Understand that there are security professionals who are much more knowledgeable and skilled at maintaining safety and managing threats — and they are working on keeping Inauguration Day safe right now.
Security experts are identifying issues and addressing them promptly.
The news reports that the area around the Capitol and the entire National Mall will be closed to prevent crowds of any sort to form.
Plus, there's a large contingent of National Guard — you can see them quite clearly in the area — to prevent any further violence.
You don't need to be involved in these things — you just need to follow the rules and stay home. The ceremony and entertainment will be available on T.V. and online, so you won’t miss anything.
2. Avoid reading or listening to the many pundits sharing their opinions about what could go wrong.
They don’t know everything, either. They are guessing and, in most cases, will not be right.
Remember, they are trying to increase their ratings or get more views online. If the things the pundits say seem to increase your feelings of unrest, give them a miss.
It’s good to be generally aware of the news, but understand the difference between straight news ("This is the fact of what happened.") versus opinion ("This is what I think it means.") and choose wisely.
3. Things usually go right.
It helps to remember that things that could go wrong are more likely to go right. Experts and well-trained professionals are working very hard to plan this event and maintain security, and they usually get things right.
In fact, they get things right so often that it only makes the news when they don’t.
Everyone else becoming over-vigilant or trying to micromanage the event — especially from a distance with no way to affect a change and no knowledge base — is not really helpful.
The nation hired people to do the job of keeping the inauguration safe, so let them get on with it.
4. Avoid getting into arguments.
This can be about the Inauguration, the validity of the election, the dangers involved, or pretty much anything else this week. You're as unlikely to change their opinion as they are to change yours.
The country is very divided and polarized at the moment, with everyone very entrenched in their ideas. Arguing with people who won’t change is a frustrating and stressful activity.
If the goal is to reduce your stress and anxiety, let those arguments go with love. If you need to interact with someone you disagree with, find and stick to subjects you can agree on.
One lady lives with her husband who holds a very different set of views. Lately, they're just talking about food, their grown children, and other subjects of mutual comfort.
Their stress levels are down significantly.
5. Reframe the experience of living through this time period.
When you change the language, you change the perspective. These are "interesting" times, rather than "stressful," "dangerous," or "scary" times.
This doesn't mean that you should fail to behave prudently, it simply means that you don’t need to experience these times as anxiety-producing.
Think of the stories you will have to tell young people one day!
6. Change your perspective.
If you can detach and look at it from a different perspective, these are interesting times, in actual fact.
For me, I wonder how the trajectory of the country will change after the Inauguration and the inquiries into things that have occurred are completed.
Will education change? Will priorities change? In what positive ways will daily life change?
It’s important to look at it positively and to begin to envision what you would like to see happen and how that would look.
Imagining happy things will, in fact, reduce your stress.
7. Make self-care a priority.
Eat healthy foods. Drink your water. Get plenty of rest. Exercise comfortably. Take that lovely bath.
Engage with family and friends, in responsible ways, and connecting with those who fill your well of well-being, while avoiding naysayers and doom merchants who will bring you down. You know who they are.
Meditate if you're so inclined. Find five positive thoughts per day — or more if you choose. For example, tell yourself, "I am safe."
Remind yourself of these thoughts if you begin to feel anxious. You can keep or change your thoughts daily as you like.
In short, you will get through the anxiety of Inauguration Day and move into the future.
Nancie Barwick is a clinical hypnotherapist, author, speaker, and medical intuitive. For more information on her services, visit her website.